Health officials are currently conducting a risk assessment that will help to determine whether the proposed phased reopening of schools, beginning on September 7, should be delayed in light of the recent resurgence in COVID-19 cases.

Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Karl Samuda made the disclosure while speaking on the third day of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association’s 56th annual conference at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James on Wednesday, August 19.

“If the cases continue to spike and it is deemed unsafe for students and teachers to physically return to school, we will have to reassess [the situation] and put in place contingency plans to face that eventuality,” he said.

However, Samuda advised that the ministry will engage stakeholders on the matter before a final decision is made.

“We will hold consultations with [the] Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), National Parent-Teacher Association of Jamaica, Ecumenical Church Group, Jamaica Independent Schools’ Association (JISA), the Jamaica Prefect Association, the National Secondary Students Council, and representatives of tertiary institutions, among others,” Samuda said.

Samuda said the ministry and, by extension, the government, are aware that teachers are anxious to return to the classrooms, and that parents are keen on sending their children to school come September.

http://www.loopjamaica.com/content/school-reopening-be-guided-covid-risk-assessment-now-being-done